ETA admits Madrid airport bomb but says truce still holds

Euronews

ETA says it carried out the deadly bombing at Madrid airport late last month, but its “permanent” ceasefire declaration still stands. In a statement to Gara newspaper, the militant Basque separatist group blames the government for “placing obstacles endlessly in the democratic process”. It coincides with the release of new footage taken minutes after the huge car bomb blast.

ETA’s statement goes on to say that it did not mean to cause casualties, accusing the government of failing to evacuate the car park despite three warning calls pointing out exact location of the explosives. The airport was largely cleared but the two Ecuadorean victims were sleeping in parked cars.

On Monday, the political party banned for its links to ETA, appealed to the guerrillas to maintain the ceasefire. Batasuna chief, Arnaldo Otegi, called on ETA to “keep to objectives and commitments set out in its statement of March 22” – the date the militants had vowed to give up their fight.